First Intergalactic Emperor: Starting With The Ancient Goddess

The rest of the afternoon passed with Xavier testing out every weapon—handguns, plasma blades, rifles, smart-shields. He had the knowledge now, but his hands still needed to catch up. Bruises followed. Misfires. A sliced boot. But he pushed through it.

As the sun dipped, the field finally quieted.

And then came dinner.

They all sat together on the platform near Xavier’s home. Steam rose from the bowls as laughter echoed softly under the fading sky. Even Reva smiled—barely—as she picked through a bowl of synthetic blood stew Lyra had somehow managed to replicate from the med kits.

”This is disgusting,” Reva said flatly. ”But... tolerable.”

”Food is food,” Lyra muttered. ”And I cook good.”

”You never told me you could cook,” Xavier commented jokingly.

”I can cook but I don’t like cooking. I only like eating.”

Xavier scarfed down his food and leaned back. ”So how long till I’m a master assassin?”

Lyra raised an eyebrow. ”A month, at least. That’s just the basics.”

”I don’t have a month,” Xavier said. ”I barely have a day.”

He looked her in the eyes. ”Just keep showing me. I’ll pick it up.”

Lyra didn’t argue. She’d already seen it—he could. Not perfectly. But fast enough to survive.

As the last light faded, the mood shifted.

Villagers gathered outside his house. Some where worried, others were confident.

”We’ll come with you!” someone yelled. ”We’ll fight!”

Xavier stepped forward. ”No.”

The crowd murmured.

He raised his voice. ”This is my fight. As the Prophet’s son, it’s my job to protect you. You don’t owe me anything.”

”But—”

”No.” His voice cut sharper now. ”Let me do this. I won’t let anyone else die. This is my home, and I am simply protecting it. I have the power to do so, you don’t.”

The silence that followed was heavy.

Then his father stepped out of the crowd.

He walked up to Xavier, wordless at first, then placed a small object in his son’s palm. A locket.

Xavier blinked down. ”What’s this?”

”Something old,” his father said. ”Something important.”

Xavier looked up. ”You’re being cryptic again.”

The old man smiled. ”I’ll tell you the story when you return.”

For a second, Xavier just stood there, fingers curled around the locket.

Then he nodded.

”...Alright.”

He turned.

Reva stood at the ready, black armor hugging her frame like a second skin. Her eyes gleamed red in the dark.

Lyra had already strapped herself in, checking drone flight paths on the HUD hovering above her wrist.

Behind them, the drones fired up with a soft hum, the lights blinking alive. Bots carrying the ammunition and other important kits. The weapons were loaded. The mission was clear.

Xavier gave one last glance toward the village.

Then he walked into the dark.

With Reva and Lyra at his side.

The night air was dry and quiet as they moved through the open land outside the village. Gravel crunched under their boots. The stars stretched out above them like shiny diamonds on a black carpet.

Xavier walked in the middle, hands tucked in his coat pockets, his rifle slung across his back. Lyra kept to his left, scanning the surroundings like a machine, while Reva walked silently on his right, her cloak fluttering behind her.

They didn’t talk at first.

Then Xavier let out a slow breath. ”So... Lyra.”

”Hm?”

”You were part of Bull’s main fighting crew or... just back-up?”

She didn’t stop walking. ”Main crew.”

”No shit?”

”Yeah.” She glanced at him. ”Why?”

”You just give off more of a... behind-the-scenes, sniper-on-the-hill, lone-wolf-vibe.”

”Was that pun intended?” Reva remarked with a chuckle.

”Hehe.”

”Because I am all of those,” Lyra muttered. ”But I also tore through dozens of mechs on foot in Sector-81 during the Black Steel Conflict. Does that count?”

”I have no idea what that is, but...” Xavier raised an eyebrow. ”That... counts.”

He looked over to Reva. ”What about you? Ever fought in an actual battle? Or are you more of a... science and seduction kinda girl?”

Reva didn’t laugh. Just stared ahead. ”You wouldn’t want to know what kind of fights happen in a vampire family, Xavier.”

He blinked.

”Imagine a dinner party,” she continued. ”Now imagine one cousin feeding poison to another while smiling. The uncle stabs his own son over inheritance. One of the sisters is found dead in a coffin that isn’t hers. And none of it’s even considered a crime.”

Xavier blinked again. ”...Damn.”

Lyra gave her a side glance. ”And I thought my childhood was rough.”

Reva shrugged. ”We learned to kill with our mouths before we even knew how to walk.”

”Okay, never asking again,” Xavier said quickly. ”Let’s just deploy the drones.”

Reva gave a small smirk and tapped the interface on her wrist.

The drones floated up from the carrier units, rising like silent birds into the sky. Dozens of them—sleek, silent, and invisible to most basic detection.

”I rewrote their OS,” Reva said casually. ”Stripped out the restrictions. Boosted stealth mode. Added local jammers on each node.”

”Jammers?” Lyra asked.

”They’ll blind the mercs’ radars. Our babies will fly right over their heads and they won’t even blink.”

Xavier gave a low whistle. ”Now that’s sexy.”

Reva raised an eyebrow. ”That better be directed at the tech.”

Xavier grinned. ”Might be both.”

The three of them reached a slope and sat at the top, peering over the ridge.

The drones began sending data back.

A holographic map bloomed between them—a top-down view of the target site.

There was a massive black spaceship grounded at the center. Long, blocky, with fusion engines dimmed down into standby. Surrounding it were twelve spread-out camp clusters, each marked with tents, ammo depots, and makeshift towers.

”You seeing this?” Lyra asked.

”Yeah,” Xavier said, eyes narrowing. ”Those bastards didn’t come here for a scouting mission.”

The scanner fed more intel.

Around two hundred red blips.

”Fifty of them are active,” Reva noted. ”They’re either patrolling or watching the perimeter.”

”Turrets, too,” Lyra pointed. ”And reinforced platforms here, here, and there. They’re guarding the ship like it’s royalty.”

”Any way to sneak through?” Xavier asked.

Lyra shook her head. ”If we try to slip in, we’ll hit the patrols or the cameras. And if we take too long, someone will notice the dead silence on the perimeter.”

Reva leaned back on her elbows. ”They’re not here to hang out. They’re preparing for a war.”

”And I’m guessing we’re the appetizer.”

Xavier stared at the projection for a moment.

Then closed his eyes.

”Alright. Let’s rest up. We move before sunrise.”

No one argued.

They had seen the numbers. The defenses. The sheer size of it all.

But they also knew what was at stake.

The village.